In short:
Walgett Memorial swimming pool will remain closed this swimming season, with council ruling it unsafe and beyond repair.
asserted
it → remain → repair
The town regularly has days hotter than 40 degrees Celsius during summer, and residents feel they have been neglected.
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they → have → summer
Member for Barwon Roy Butler wants the state government to conduct an audit of local pools to avoid more closures.
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government → want → closures
As the weather turns, residents of inland Australia begin flocking to their local pool for the start of the swimming season.
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residents → turn → season
But with a scorching summer looming, residents of Walgett in western New South Wales will not be taking part in the seasonal ritual.
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residents → loom → ritual
The town's pool will remain closed this season after it was deemed unsafe and beyond repair.
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it → remain → repair
It leaves few options for cooling off for Walgett parents like Katrina Marshall and her two boys aged 17 and 14.
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It → leave → Marshall
"Our rivers stink so it's not like the kids can even go down there and enjoy themselves," she said.
"
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she → stink → themselves
It's going to be a very boring summer."
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It → go → ?
Ms Marshall said the closure is a reminder of the disadvantage felt in parts of regional NSW.
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closure → say → NSW
"We're always forgotten, we're a little town in the middle of nowhere, we don't exist in Sydney unless kids are stealing cop cars," she said.
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she → forget → cars
A pool ready to retire
The Walgett Memorial swimming pool was first opened to the public in the early 60s.
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pool → retire → 60s
Sixty years on and the pool is showing its age.
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pool → show → age
In 2023, council voted to decommission the pool before patching it up to reopen in late 2024.
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council → vote → 2024
It closed again in April, before the end of last season, after council deemed it unsafe.
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it → close → season
Walgett's mayor, Jasen Ramien, said the council did not want to close the pool this season, but it had no choice.
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it → say → choice
"The decision to close the Walgett pool was one of the hardest decisions this council has had to make," he said.
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he → close → decisions
"We didn't want to close it, but the reality was the pool had reached a point where it was no longer safe.
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it → want → point
"
The council will focus on building a replacement pool instead of investing up to $1 million in short-term repairs that were not guaranteed to last, according to a NSW Public Works inspection.
uncertain
that → focus → inspection
In a letter to NSW Premier Chris Minns, Cr Ramien described the pool as the backbone of the community.
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Ramien → describe → community
"It is one of the few places in our town that offers relief from the heat, but also relief from boredom, disengagement and isolation.
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that → offer → boredom
"In a community like ours, that matters more than words can properly capture.
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words → matter → ours
The Walgett Shire Council has requested up to $420,000 from the state government to provide a free daily bus service from Walgett to the Collarenebri swimming pool.
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Council → request → pool
The towns are about 75 kilometres apart, with a bus service going once a day in each direction.
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service → go → direction
Former Olympic swim coach's warning
Former Olympic swim coach Laurie Lawrence is worried the bush faces a generation of kids who can't swim due to aging pool infrastructure.
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who → worry → infrastructure
"It could be a generation, particularly in the country areas where kids, because they have a lack of pools, don't get to enjoy the water, don't get to stay safe," he said.
uncertain
he → have → water
"We all deserve an opportunity to learn to swim, the whole country.
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We → deserve → opportunity
Many council-run pools were built in the 60s during the golden era of swimming.
But with a life span of 50 years, most are nearing or have passed their use-by date.
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most → run → date
"You can't have the country people being disadvantaged over the city people," Mr Lawrence added.
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Lawrence → have → people
The National Drowning Report 2026 by Royal Lifesaving Australia found drowning rates were double for those from the most disadvantaged areas and nearly triple for regional residents and nearly quadruple for remote residents compared to major cities
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rates → find → cities
The member for Barwon, Roy Butler, has called on the state government to audit pools across the state.
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member → call → state
"I've spoken to the minister for local government, and the minister for sport about doing an audit of those pools, and I've also taken it up with Royal Life Saving Australia … to get them to pull together a report that prioritises pools so then government can prioritise allocation of funds," he added.
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he → speak → funds
In 2022, the State of Aquatic Facility Infrastructure in Australia report, commissioned by Royal Life Saving Australia, found 500 pools nationally would need replacing, or require "significant repairs" to the pool shell within the next 10 years, at a cost of $8 billion.
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pools → commission → billion
Ian McShane, an associate professor at the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT in Melbourne, has been following the deterioration and closure of public pools for over 15 years.
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McShane → follow → years
He said losing a pool is losing a vital part of a town's social fabric.
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losing → say → fabric
Local public pools are one place where anybody, regardless of who you are and your social status, can mix."
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you → mix → ?
Dr McShane said the loss of a pool would mean people might look elsewhere to settle down.
uncertain
people → say → pool
"Families would be reluctant to move to areas that don't have good social infrastructure."
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that → move → infrastructure
Dr McShane said he wants to see pools classed as critical infrastructure, alongside roads and energy networks.
"
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pools → say → roads
I think the three levels of government should get together and agree that these are important community places and closing them can really have a significant personal and social impact on communities, particularly small communities."
asserted
closing → think → communities
The Aporia